Summertime Summertime is Here

Well, technically the summer doesn't begin until mid to late June, or so says my calendar.  But we certainly have some summer type weather around here, and the thousands of visitors that showed up in all the shore towns the past few days tell us otherwise.  Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and that means summer has come to the shore.

In honor of the important occasion, BelmarArts has a new show opening this week- Summertime, Summertime.  It's an all media show, curated by Hillary Binder-Klein, with about 60 artworks.  The theme is, obviously, summertime and whatever that means to people who live around here.

Summer is a big deal in Belmar, and crowds come from far and wide this week to enjoy some summer in this town.  The art is heavy on beach scenes, but it's anything to do with summer, and we seem to be in thick of it right now.  Despite reported parking issues tonight and holiday weekend activities, we got a respectable crowd at the Boatworks- people came and went but around 30-40 in attendance most of the reception.

If you are asking yourself why all the food tables are in the back gallery instead of the education room/side gallery where they usually are set up, there was a reason.  There was an activity set up in the side gallery.  

About a month ago the Boatworks was the headquarters for the Belmar ArtWalk, an annual event where artists set up around town and display what they do to any visitors that wander by.  In our own parking lot that day we had a community involvement activity, where visitors were invited to participate in the creation of a mosaic mural, one with a beach/ocean theme.  Progress was made, but there is a ways to go.  There is a goal that the finished piece will be an outdoor artwork as part of the labyrinth/garden piece being created on the side of the Boatworks, set to be officially dedicated June 2nd, just a week from today.   So today that community project was set up in our side room, complete with the cement and a large supply of pieces of tile, and visitors to the reception were invited to add to it.  The rumor is that it may stay out a bit more in case we can get some further volunteers.

As for the Summertime, Summertime show, those 60 works fill both the front and back galleries and will be on display through June 22, 2018.  As usual, the gallery is open Wed-Sat from 1 to 5 pm and admission in free.